


Cyclical

by Akabane_Gakushuu



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alpha Thor (Marvel), Alpha Tony Stark, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, Beta Bruce Banner, Beta Clint Barton, Bottom Loki (Marvel), Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012), Domestic Avengers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Loki/Tony Stark, Evil Odin (Marvel), F/M, Forced Pregnancy, Forced Prostitution, Human Trafficking, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Merchant of Death Tony Stark, Not Thor: The Dark World Compliant, Omega Bucky Barnes, Omega Loki (Marvel), Other, Past Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Slavery, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-20 01:23:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20666990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akabane_Gakushuu/pseuds/Akabane_Gakushuu
Summary: Loki is banished to Midgard without his powers, immortality, or aid from his brother. He lands in Central Park where he's seized by the Avengers who lock him up in the HeliCarrier.One of the Avengers wants revenge on Loki for New York and sends Loki's location to an omega trafficker called the "Grandmaster," just as Loki is supposed to be mated to Tony Stark.





	1. Empire of Tears

**Author's Note:**

> There is some heavy discussions about rape, human trafficking, prostitution, and forced pregnancy.
> 
> Please beware these triggers.

Before this story can be told, I must warn you, traveler, that this tale of Yggdrasil is different from the tree that you are familiar with. It diverges from the point of the giant Ymir, as before he perished at the hands of the barbaric Aesir, he established a hereditary line of families that influenced every realm. These families were ruled by the way of the Wolf, a set of at gave each member a certain job and personality type that helps to keep the stability of the family. However, these families are not always blood-related. But a family may have a different definition to you, traveler, so we shall call the groups of blood-relatives Broods, and the unrelated groups Packs.

The brash Aesir, ruled by Bor and his wife Bestla, defeated Ymir and kidnapped the members of the families that they found attractive. As the lines of heritage elongated, the Wolf dynamics of Ymir began to infiltrate the Aesir. At the same time, the Jotnar of Ymir fought with the realm of Midgard and interbred, leaving their traits on the planet even after their defeat. 

These dynamics are complicated, but I will try my best to explain them to you, traveler. As said before there are two types of families: Broods (blood relatives) and Packs (non- blood related). 

There are three personality types; Alpha (confident leader), Beta (mild and loyal), and Omega (emotional and protective).

Alphas are often male due to the need to produce strong offspring. Female Alphas must mate with a male Beta in order to reproduce. Omegas, both male and female, possess a fertile uterus. Though male Omegas possess male genitalia, they are unable to get any dynamic (even a female Omega) pregnant.

Omegas go into Heat twice a year, where their body burns until they are sated sexually and physically. This is when an Omega is most fertile and gains a mate. Betas experience a Heat once a year, but only need to be physically sated. 

Mates are formed by a Marking bite on the neck and an emotional bond. Bonds are the connection between mates where the emotions of one influences the other partner. Many couples take vacations in order to spend the most time with each other and create a strong tether between them. A bond can be broken by taking a probiotic supplement (ex. BondBreaker pills) that break it down over a period of three weeks.

Both sets of families share the same hierarchy of members: In order from the top of the hierarchy to the lowest level.

  1. Alpha: The dominant member of the family who oversees all members, all plans, and financial stability. Alphas are common, making up 37% of Yggdrasil's population.
  2. Beta: Subordinate member that cares for the health of the family and recruiter for the pack. There can be multiples of this member, depending on the size of the family. Betas are extremely common, they make up 33% of Yggdrasil's population.
    1. “Gamma”: The physician of the pack that handles injuries. These are Betas that have technical training in the art of healing.
  3. Omega: The caretaker of the emotional health of the family. All Omegas are gifted with Empathy and Fertility. Most likely mated to the Alpha. Omegas are not common, making up 30% of the population. 
    1. “Breeders”: Omegas that are used specifically for breeding purposes. They have never been Mated and are usually part of human trafficking schemes. 

There! That is all the information you shall need to begin this tale, traveler. 

-

Tony Stark did  _ not _ cry He had a sad past, but he tended to ignore it unless it was too close to Home for him to bear. 

Virginia "Pepper" Potts, his beloved mate and almost fianceé, was walking away from him. From their  _ Pack.  _

The promise of BondBreaker pills floated back to him along with her accusations of his lack of self-preservation and vanity. "Pepper please!" He reached for her, grabbing her wrist. "Please...I can't lose you…" 

She pulled her deceptively dainty wrist away. "Tony, grow up!" Her strawberry-blonde hair swished as she stormed to the elevator. "Pull yourself together. Maybe when you learn some common sense and human decency we can be together, but I doubt you'll be able to that. Goodbye, Tony." 

Tony felt the hot dribble of tears run down his cheeks, but he made no move to wipe them away. Maybe crying for a moment would keep him from draining his favorite whiskey for a few more minutes. A slight breeze alerted Tony to the agent that had silently leaped from the air conditioning vent from above the bar countertop. “Did Pepper just leave?” Clint asked, nudging the scotch away from Tony’s hand. 

“Yeah.” He sighed shakily. He yanked off a paper towel and furiously wiped at his eyes. “She accused me of cheating on her, on top of being vain and lacking self-preservation.”

“Well, the tabloids named you a playboy and your name  _ is _ plastered on the outside of the tower…” Clint shut up at the red-rimmed glare aimed at him. “Okay, so you lost Pepper. You still have the Pack-”

“It’s not the same!” Tony yelled, running unsteady through his hair. “I can’t...I can’t take the pills with the Reactor. The chemicals will cause the Palladium to corrode inside my veins.” He admitted quietly. 

Clint went silent and mulled over the problem. “What if we magic the shrapnel away?”

“Magic? Like Asgardian mojo?” 

“Yeah. Like, Thor has those magical nurses that fix up the major injuries he’s gotten during battles. Surely they can fix you up since Thor is in the Avengers.”

“Let’s talk to Thor-”

“Sir Odinson is still in Asgard.” JARVIS cut in. “He relayed to me that he will return tomorrow after Loki is tried in court.”

“Oh shit,” Clint mused. “Can’t wait to hear how he died. Nat bets it’ll be a firing squad. Personally I think it’ll be sucking all of his magic away and leaving him like a zombie.” A cruel quirk of his lip caught Tony’s attention.

“Well, any of those means that Thor will be a snotty mess tomorrow. Maybe we can see if pot works on calming a god down.” He tried to lighten the mood. 

“That would be hilarious!” Clint laughed heartily.” Can you imagine how crazy Thor’s cravings would be? He’d truly eat your budget up!”

Tony smiled and started towards the elevator. “See you tomorrow, Clint.”

“Steve called a Pack sundae night at nine tonight! He’ll turn JARVIS against you if you don’t come.” Clint called from the kitchen. “I promise it’ll help, Tony.” 

“Okay, okay. I’ll come.” Tony lied as the steel doors closed in front of him. He groaned and trudged to his messy bed, face-planting onto Pepper’s pillow. 

-

He sobbed like a baby until Steve dragged his ass down to the kitchen. “Tony,” Steve sighed in his "dad" voice. 

“Leave me alone!” Tony grunted as he was heaved over Steve’s shoulder. “I want to cry in peace!”

“Tony, you know that grieving a mate is more painful alone.” Bruce said gently as Tony was shoved onto the plush pull-out couch. Bruce draped an Iron Man blanket over Tony and settled beside him.

Steve grabbed a large chocolate sundae and wrapped Tony’s hands around it. The soldier stretched out beside Tony, Bucky curling up on the other side of Steve. Natasha and Clint took up the loveseat turned bed adjacent to the large couch. Rhodey was unfortunately out in Washington, D.C. conducting a meeting with the president. Tony mumbled unhappily that Rhodey wasn’t here, but Steve promised Tony could skype him after the sundae/movie night was finished. 

Tony curled into Bruce and slowly ate his sprinkle-drenched sundae. Clint turned on the  _ Men In Black _ movie, then curled back up into Natasha’s arms under a fuzzy blanket. Tony tried to keep his tears as silent as possible, but Bruce’s gentle hugs caused him to choke on his sobs. The whole Pack felt the weight of Pep per’s loss. Tony knew he was broadcasting his emotions too willy-nilly, but Pepper was the first thing he thought would stay forever; and they created the Avengers Pack together. Pepper was even talking about marriage just a few weeks ago! How could it have gone so wrong? “I was gonna propose tonight..” He mumbled.

“Wait, you were?” Bruce’s eyebrows raised. 

Tony nodded and fished out the engagement ring from his pocket. “ I built it from the first reactor...but i guess we can just melt it back down...” He finished with a hiccup, Steve and Bucky taking the ring as Tony broke down into more sobs. 

Steve put it on the bookcase behind them. “No, don’t destroy it. Keep it for someone who actually deserves you.”

The engineer sighed shakily, pulling the red blanket over his head. “And you guys deserve an Alpha that can handle a Pack without breaking down every day.” 

"Tony, cut that out. You're the best Alpha I've ever had." Clint sighed. "At least have pride in being better than Fury." Tony laughed softly, leaning into Bruce and letting the movie lull him to sleep.

-

Loki led the guards into the gilded throne room, letting his chains scrape the marble runes beneath his feet. He was forced to halt beneath the Hlidskjalf's dais, mocking his guards' salute to the Allfather. He laughed at the fury encapsulated in Odin's good eye.

"You may keep those wrinkles if you keep that frown any longer, Allfather." Loki bit.

"This is not the time for jokes, Loki!"

Loki laughed again, taking a step forward. "Is it not? This farce of a  _ trial _ ?" 

"Loki." Frigga intoned, "Please do not make this any worse."

His glance turned to her beside the throne. "Hello Mother-" He began but was cut off by Odin's roar.

"Frigga! Leave us at once if you will continue to interrupt my judgement." Odin bellowed, dismissing her with a frustrated gesture.

She turned to face her husband. "I am merely reminding  _ our son _ to keep his tongue in check. You shall not banish me from this so-called judgement. Do not forget that I have as much power as you, husband." She turned back to Loki, resuming her regal posture.

Odin's lips hardened into a fine line. "Fine then,  _ wife." _ He snapped. "Loki Laufeyson, you are here because of your crimes against Jotunheim and Midgard. Your formal charges are attempted genocide of an underpopulated race, inter-realm warfare, and the casulties of over a hundred Midgardians. Do you have any defense?"

Loki sneered. "I have not committed any crimes! Tell me,  _ Allfather _ , was attempting to rule a planet considered illegal when Bor defeated Ymir-"

"ENOUGH, You cruel beast!" Odin seemed to fly down the dais. His staff connected with Loki's cheek and sent the disgraced prince flying into the guards behind him. "You have done nothing but disappoint me in every way! I should execute you." Odin turned around and headed back up to the throne. He ignored Frigga as she ran to Loki and helped him to his feet. "As I said before, I should execute you, but the plea the Allmother has put in your favor has redirected your punishment."

Frigga had not let go of Loki, holding his shackled hands. Odin said flatly. "You are being stripped of your magic and immortality, and banished to Midgard. You will earn your worth by both my and Heimdall's discretion." He flicked a hand to Frigga. "Strip him."

Frigga's crystal eyes sparkled with tears. "I refuse to."

"Get on with it, woman! You shall not allow this greedy child to not suffer his punishment!"

Frigga whirled towards Odin with an aura of fury. "Stripping a mage of their seidr is condemning them to death! Seidr is the spirit of their soul."

Odin stormed down the dais once again and threw Frigga into Thor's arms. The blonde held her tight, calling out, "Father! Please, Loki does not deserve this!"

The Allfather glared at his true son with an eye stormy with madness. "How?! You have been a victim of his trickery for centuries. Surely he has not corrupted you as well?" 

"Loki speaks of the Mad Titan, Thanos, and of the Other. Midgard has staved them off, but Heimdall has spoken of Thanos still alive." Thor gently pulled his mother into her handmaidens' waiting embraces. “Thanos will return and Loki has information-”

"Loki. Speaks. Lies!" Odin thundered. "He has twisted these nonsensical threats that were extinguished long ago into a lie to save himself from punishment! Thanos has been dead for a century!" He turned to face Loki. "I hereby strip you of your seidr and immortality, and banish you to the realm of Midgard until you can earn an ounce of my respect." He raised Gungnir, a flame of molten gold consuming the disgraced prince. Loki’s screams mixed with Frigga’s sobbing, her tears growing louder as the now unconscious prince was hauled to the Bifrost. 

-

Heimdall activated the newly rebuilt Bifrost with his sword, eyes creased in concern for his king’s overwhelming madness. “My King,” He spoke after Loki was thrown through the channel to Midgard, “How are you faring?” Odin gesticulated dismissively at the Gatekeeper, sweeping back towards the bridge to return to his steed, Sleipnir. The stallion winnied in distress as Odin approached him, forest green eyes darting to the Gatekeeper. Heimdall called out once more to the King, “My King, Sleipnir may not be the best choice as your steed at the current moment.” 

Odin ignored the golden-clad man, roughly mounting the stallion and forcing him to ride back to the castle. Thor and the Warriors Three awaited him at the Palace dais, Fandral taking hold of Sleipnir to lead him back to the stables. Sleipnir bucked as Odin dismounted, hitting the Allfather in the chestplate. “Ungrateful horse!” Odin roared. He whipped Sleipnir’s smooth stomach with the pointed shaft of Gungnir. 

Thor pulled his father away from the steed. “Father, please! He is just in distress!”

“He is just a steed! You and your mother let this horse get away with anything, just as Loki did.”

  
“ _ He  _ is my nephew! Your grandson!” Thor thundered back. “I shall take care of his punishment with the stablemaster. We all need to take rest after the distress of the trial.” He met Odin’s eye before nodding and leading a wheezing Sleipnir to his stable.


	2. Thor's Actually A Good Bro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleipnir's a little shit, Bruce gets naked to cuddle Tony, and Tony learns some stuff about Loki.

Thor sighed as he secured Sleipnir in his stable, removing the outer reigns. “Your grandfather is travelling into madness, I swear he does not mean to treat you as such.” 

Sleipnir huffed loudly, his eight long legs folding gracefully under him. Thor joined him on the bed of hay, gently soothing the bruising that stood out on Sleipnir’s silky coat. Sleipnir nudged his hand for head scratches and curled around the thunderer’s frame. Light footsteps halted Thor’s petting until the smell of his mother’s perfume floated into the stable. 

“Sleipnir,” She called, Sleipnir immediately clamoured to his hooves, jostling his uncle into a heap of chainmail. 

“Mother!” Thor groaned as Mjolnir hit him in a sensitive area. Sleipnir let out a delighted huff from his juicy peach slices, glancing at his uncle in mischief. 

“Oh, you were hiding in here too?” Frigga smiled softly, holding out another slice to her grandson. “I’m surprised you fit in there with all this muscle.” She cooed over Sleipnir’s frame. Her face fell as her light eyes found the bruising. “Sif told me Odin whipped him.” 

“With Gungnir.” Thor sighed, getting to his feet and dusting the hay off his armor. “I worry Father slips into the same madness that befell Loki before his fall.”

Frigga nodded. “My pleading with him does not matter. Loki would have been executed had he not had a moment of clarity. I fear what the consequences of stripping Loki are along with the influence of his Dynamic.” Sleipnir’s Alpha mark was hidden beneath his curled mane. Sleipnir finished the peach slices and nuzzled Frigga before settling back onto his bed of hay. Frigga's blue eyes met Thor's concerned ones. "I worry about your brother." 

"Aye. But he has always been resilient." 

She smiled sadly, cupping Thor's stubbled cheeks. "How is your lady?"

"Sif is well." He nodded.

"Lady Sif? I was asking about Jane."

Thor blinked. "Oh! She and I are no longer courting. I have father's blessing to begin courting Lady Sif."

Frigga pinched his cheek playfully. "Why have I not heard this?!"

Sleipnir snorted at Thor's light flush. "Oh hush." Thor groaned at the horse. "I thought you knew." He turned to his mother. Thor gave the stallion a few more head pets before walking out of the stable gate and locking it, joining his mother. 

-

Tony was very rudely awoken by JARVIS's Assemble alarm. Bruce jolted from his cuddle position between Tony and Bucky, tripping over the empty boxes of ice cream on the coffee table. Natasha and Clint were gone, probably already suiting up. Bucky was groggily scrubbing at his eyes, reaching over Tony and shaking Steve from his snoring. 

"Fuck, J, what's going on?" Tony slurred as they all bumbled for their rooms to get their weapons. 

"Loki has just landed in Central Park. Director Fury and Agent Coulson are already en route, sir." JARVIS reported, a screen of Fury appearing. 

"Stark, get your ass over to Central Park. We got a Loki sighting." 

The suit assembled around him, blasting through the open window as soon as the locks clicked shut. "What's he doing?" He grumbled as the park quickly approached. 

"At the moment, just kinda laying there." Coulson piped up from his HUD comm. "He hasn't moved."

Stark landed beside the SHIELD Quinjet; Agent Coulson speaking with Director Fury as a swarm of men-in-black crowded around a large crater. Fury waved him over. "He's pretty much dead. Motherfucker was probably thrown out of fairyland or he tried to off himself."

A loud snort from behind them announced the other Avengers' arrival. "Some people just need that little push." Stark's nose twitched at Clint's anxious scent. "Is he dead?"

"Not quite." Coulson answered dutifully, "Although a little push probably would kill him. It's strange Thor hasn't come back."

The Avengers made their way to the crater, JARVIS scanning the debris and the broken figure in the middle. It didn't even  _ look _ like Loki. "How'd you ID him, J?"

"By the bifrost's magical signature, sir. He has no magic signature close to my records of the invasion or the tesseract." 

"Huh, so cast out?" 

"Most likely. He is showing signs of consciousness." JARVIS alerted, his repulsors aiming at the figure as it heaved and sat up slowly. 

"Hands in the air!" Came the shout from Fury. "You can't run, Loki!"

Loki's hands shakily moved to above his head. His pupils were dilated, giving him a haunted stare. As the black suited swarm advanced hungrily into the crater with cuffs, that was when Stark smelled him. 

Loki  _ reeked  _ of unmated omega. 

"Fury, they're going to jump him!" The engineer yelled as the group of soldiers converged. Stark ripped away manhandling agents from the fallen god, fear scent overwhelming him. 

"Stark, stand down!" Tony looked around as he cradled Loki's form to his metal chest, seeing the guns trained on him now. "Put him down!" Fury yelled, holding a plasma enabled rifle. 

Stark shook his head, trying to clear himself of the instinctual fog. He set Loki down even as he shook trying to restrain himself. He stepped back, holding up his hands. 

Fury, Agent Hill, and Bruce stepped into the crater, Bruce making his way to Tony. "Hey Tony, let's go home, okay?" His warm eyes grounding Tony. 

Tony saw Fury put handcuffs on the unconscious Loki, snapping his control. "Don't touch him!" He raised a repulser at Hill and Fury. JARVIS was speaking in his helmet, but he paid him no attention as Loki was being hauled to a SHIELD van. "Stop!" He tore away from Bruce when his repulsor refused to fire. He vaguely feels the hit his lands to Steve's cheek. Tony's world spins as green walls crush him. Rumbling from all around him knocked away his instincts as the Hulk restrained him.

"Tin man need a hug." The Hulk justified. Tony felt Hulk set him down with a beefy hand, stumbling from the aftershocks of going into Rush. Hulk pet Tony's head in his almost-too-hard way, then slowly shrunk into Bruce. Clint jogged over with a robe for the scientist. Bruce wrapped himself up and smiled at Clint in thanks before turning to Tony.

Tony shook his head. "I know. He smelled like complete panic and something just went into overdrive."

Clint scoffed. "It's  _ Loki. _ The psycho-ness should've kept you clear." He sauntered back to where Fury was eyeing Stark and Banner suspiciously.

Bruce laid a warm hand on Tony's tense shoulder. "Hey, I get it. Let's go home okay?"

The engineer stared at SHIELD's retreat with a distant look. "He was omega." He mumbled. "The freaking invader of Earth was  _ omega _ and I never smelled it."

Bruce's hand hadn't moved, which was good, because it was the only thing keeping Tony's mind in his noggin. "We were all under duress during the battle. Dynamics become secondary in times of stress." He explained, sending soft waves of calm to Tony. 

"Sir, Thor has landed at the tower." JARVIS spoke into his earpiece. "He is wondering where the Avengers have went. Shall I tell him?"

"No. Tell him Bruce and I are in our way back." Tony sighed. JARVIS intoned a confirmation. The engineer looked to the Gamma Beta beside him. "Want a lift?"

"Sure. I've always wanted to be that girl from _Megamind_." He grinned and wrapped arms around Tony's neck. 

Tony held Bruce's waist and blasted off, Bruce and him laughing about Tony and JARVIS as Megamind and Minion. 

-

Thor was drinking heavily from a keg of Asgardian Mead he's magically produced. "Yo, Thunderstruck!" Tony called as he landed, setting down Bruce and unsuiting. "What's caused the drinking?" 

“Loki.” Thor rumbled, taking another hefty swig. 

Bruce sat down next to him. “Hey Thor? He just landed here in New York. Why’s he here?”

“Loki was exiled; his immortality, seidr, and lies taken from him. Mother and I are worried because of his..other gender.” He stated quietly. “My father was furious during the trial and does not believe the mind stone evidence I presented.”

“Mind stone evidence?” Bruce asked.

“Mother and our sorcerers found traces of the influence of the mind stone within Loki’s memories. Father didn’t believe it because he thought Loki had manipulated them into seeing altered memories.” Thor ran a hand through his long hair. He looked like he had aged several years in just a few days. 

“Like Barton?” Tony asked nonchalantly as he poured himself a few fingers of Scotch. 

"I assume so. Loki has not been talkative about his experience to anyone...not even our mother." Thor's usually golden hair had dulled to greasy strands reminiscent of his brother. "I worry about him. Where is he now?"

"SHIELD has him. He's probably going to be placed in a containment cell." Bruce shivered, pulling his robe tighter. "I'm gonna go get changed, it's cold in here." 

Tony smiled at him as he left, collapsing onto the couch. "Thor, I almost lost my shit when I smelled Loki." He blurted.

"Lost your shit? Did you defecate-"

"No!" Tony cried, "I meant that I wanted to fuck him into submission."

"Oh."

Tony's laugh was borderline hysterical. "Yeah...I just wanted to tell you so feel free to kill me now."

Thor sighed and set down the keg with a thud. "I am grateful for your restraint. Others have not been as kind to him. Because of the famine killing off the Jotnär, their dynamics have evolved to become stronger to attract mates. It is no fault of you. You would make a fine mate for Loki, so that may have been a part in why his pheromones were so strong to you." 

"Me and Loki?! As mates?! I think you've drunk too much, Point Break." 

"Ah, that may be true. But yes, you two are so wild I think you would mesh your personal chaoses very well." Thor belched. "You would love Sleipnir also. But I shall bring my gray tidings away from here as I wish to think on this matter. I bid you farewell for a few nights, Man of Iron."

He clapped a solid hand to Tony's shoulder and smiled, the sadness slowly forcing the quirk of his lips downward. "Please make sure Loki rests well for me."

"Always." Tony mirrored.

Thor huffed an amused laugh and walked to the elevator, where he departed to the roof. 

Bruce and Steve appeared out of the elevator as it returned. "Thor just leave?" Steve gestured upwards. 

"Yeah,we talked about his bro, got drunk, and now he's off to go do some poetry by Walden Pond." The engineer raised his glass before downing it. 

Bruce snorted and started the coffee maker.


	3. A New Villain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets some bad news, but at least he has doughnuts.

Unfortunately, the fuzz of scotch could not be enjoyed because of Bruce’s cell phone ringing loudly. Tony groaned as Bruce got up from the couch. Bruce was such a nice pillow.

“Hello?” He answered, fixing his askew glasses. “Sure. Is it serious? Because Tony’s buzzed and-Oh. Yeah, I’ll get Steve too. What do I do about Thor?” He paused, listening. “Yeah. I have her number, I can call her. Thanks, Clint. We’ll be over in twenty.” He hung up and ran a hand through his hair. “We need to go to SHIELD.”

“What?” Tony slurred, head nestling back into the beige couch pillows. “JARVIS, tell them to fuck off.” He mumbled. 

Bruce rolled his eyes. “Tony, c’mon. It’s just a little meeting. I’ll get you a doughnut afterwards.”

The engineer perked up at that. “The ones with bacon and maple syrup?” He asked suspiciously.

Bruce nodded. “I’ll get you two if you get up right now while I call Darcy.” He turned back to his phone and dialed Thor’s ex-lover. He heard Tony’s unhappy grumbling as he pried himself from the couch blankets. 

_“Hello?”_

“Hey Darcy, it’s Bruce Banner.” 

_“OH MY GOD, JANE, IT’S BRUCE BANNER!”_ Darcy screamed. Several large thumps sounded in the background. 

Bruce laughed nervously. “Yeah. Hey, um, is Thor there with you guys?” 

Darcy made a huff. _“Jane and Thor broke up like a month ago.”_

The phone went static for a moment as Jane forced the phone out of Darcy’s hands. “_I haven’t seen Thor since we broke up. That was a few weeks after the invasion. I think he left for Asgard for Loki’s trial.”_

“Yeah, he just came back today, but he said he needed to think and disappeared. We were wondering if he had come to visit you, because he didn’t tell us about the breakup. Sorry for bothering.”

_“It’s fine, Bruce. But no, we haven’t seen him. I can see if I can trace his signature for you though.”_

“That would be awesome. Can you text it to me if you find anything?”

Jane’s smile was audible. _“Of course. Have a good day, Dr. Banner.”_ The phone call ended with a soft click. 

-

Tony, Bruce, and Steve walked into the SHIELD briefing room. Tony flopped into a high-backed chair and curled up, complaining about Fury. Clint snorted at the look on the Director’s face. 

“Okay, so now that Stark’s semi-conscious ass is here, we have a few things to discuss.” Fury started, he nodded to Agent Coulson, who changed the graphics of the large screen to a map of upstate New York. “We have a new player on our radar after some of our agents have seen possible connections to underground weapon sales and human trafficking.”

Tony immediately sat up. “Who.” He growled. 

“The leader of _Sakaar Specializations_.” An image of a man with wiry silver hair and twinkling brown eyes. He was old, around mid-60s, and looked like a complete slime ball. “_Sakaar_ deals with customization services, from custom weapons, to custom cars. Their founder and CEO, En Dwi Gast, has been arrested several times for the unauthorized sale of weapons. We had a report come in of new blueprints for one of his new inventions, a Melt-Stick, a device that is superheated with nuclear fusion and can melt human flesh on contact.”

“Damn. We get rid of one supervillain and another one shows up.” Bruce groaned.

“Weapons aren’t the only thing we think he’s doing illegally.” Fury pointed to a list of transactions to a company listed as “O.E.D.” The payments were in the thousands.

“Dude, that looks like my payroll, it’s probably nothing.” Tony sighed. “He’s a CEO. He has to make money somehow.”

“But do you know _who_ these payments are coming from?” Coulson asked quietly. “O.E.D. stands for Omega Educational Distributors, they’re companies that deal in the trafficking of unmated omegas for breeding purposes. They’re legal in the Middle East and certain parts of Asia. Afghanistan has the largest one in the world.” The room was silent for a moment, before Tony got up and stormed out of the room.

“I’ll get him.” Bruce got up and scurried after Tony.

-

Bruce found Tony curled up in an alcove a few hallways away. His pheromones were tangible, hanging in the air like a poisonous cloud of tear gas. Bruce knelt next to his Alpha. He rested a warm hand on Tony’s back, feeling the quaking of the man’s body as he panicked. “Hey, Tony.” He called quietly. He took out Tony’s phone and dialed JARVIS’s operator number. He held the phone up to Tony’s ear.

JARVIS started speaking in soft tones to Tony through the phone. Bruce sighed and settled next to him, gently pulling Tony into his lap and stroking the man’s back. Bruce rested his head against the side of the alcove, waiting patiently until Tony had calmed down.

Tony relaxed into Bruce’s hold after twenty minutes of listening to Jarvis. Bruce took the phone and hung it up for Tony. “We can sit here for a few more minutes before we go back.”

The engineer nodded into Bruce’s chest, clutching at his purple button up shirt. “Thanks.” He whispered.

Bruce smiled softly. “Anytime, Tony. I understand. This is crazy.”

Tony sighed and uncurled himself from Bruce’s arms. He sat on his haunches and used the wall to slowly rise to his feet. “Let’s just get this over with.” Bruce nodded and followed him back to the briefing room.

-

Fury’s dark eye watched them warily as they reentered the room. Coulson was speaking to Clint in a calm voice, Clint’s pheromones slowly settling along with Tony’s. Tony forgot how much his scent would affect his pack. Especially since Pepper is no longer around to ground him. Bruce and JARVIS could try to calm him down as much as they wanted, but it could never compare to Pepper.

Tony could sense the question within SHIELD over why they haven’t seen Pepper. “Can we get this over with?”

Fury stood with a flourish of trench coat, nodding at Coulson to resume his station at the screen. “So, O.E.D.s were sourced within the payments given to En Dwi Gast’s company. It’s sourced in upstate New York with his main factory. His house next to the plant looks like a horrible rendition of the Playboy Mansion. For once, Stark has better taste in architecture.”

Tony couldn’t help but snort at the image of the ostentatious golden palace in Albany.

Fury shot Tony a smirk. “Gast attends these auctions for his customizations twice a month. The payments from these companies show up a few days after these events. It is possible he sells the offspring of the omegas during these auctions. We are not sure if it is simply breeding, or if there is any “customized” genetic experimentation going on as well.”   


“Recently there have been numerous reports of missing persons in the New England area. The last known cases were of those missing persons going to New York for a Craigslist ad for a factory job.” Coulson added. “We can assume all we want that is him, but we have no concrete evidence that the factory mentioned is indeed his factory.”

“Are only omegas missing?” Bruce piped up.

“No. There are also missing Alphas and Betas.” Fury said. “Though from what we can tell is that is a majority of omegas. We also cannot assume that all of these disappearances are connected.”

“New England is huge.” Steve murmured. “What are our steps?”

“We need more information before involving an offensive, so I’m putting Romanoff and Barton on the case for the moment and I would like Stark to use his connections to dig up some demons.”

“Glad I get away from Babysitting duty.” Clint grumbled.

“Babysitting?” Steve asked.

Clint huffed. “Sitting in the interrogation room while watching Loki. It’s the most boring job in the world.”

Fury sighed. “Anyways, one of you contact me once Thor reappears so I can brief him on all this. Also, we need the details on what the deal is with Loki’s punishment.” He looked at the nods of approval from the team and nodded himself, leaving the room.

Clint let out a deep breath. “So, I guess no pack dinner tonight?”

Tony smiled softly. “Nonsense. Just stop by before you leave and I’ll have to-go boxes for you both.”

A ghost of a smile appeared at the corners of Natasha’s thin lips. “Thanks Alpha.” She teased.

Tony shrugged. “I gotta take care of my pack. Be safe on your mission. Come back to our pack.” He hugged them both, scenting them lightly, before Bruce and Steve helped Tony to their car.

-

JARVIS chimed at them as they entered the elevator to go to the residential levels. “And I do not mean to add onto your stress sir, but Miss Pott’s prescription arrived an hour ago.”

“Oh great.” Tony groaned.

Bucky met them in the kitchen, whipping up a meringue pie with his mecca hand whisking. “Hey.” He grinned. Steve kissed him in greeting and stole a dollop of meringue. “JARVIS told me that Fury’s found a new supervillain?”

“Yeah, some weird dude upstate who likes to customize weapons. They think he’s delving into human trafficking.” Bruce sat down on a barstool at the kitchen island.

“What’s his name? HYDRA had a shit ton of links to O.E.D.s.”

Tony looked up from his tablet. “Please don’t tell me this linked to HYDRA. It’s En Dwi Gast from _Sakaar Specializations._ He used to try to up me during my weapons time.” Tony groaned. “I could have sworn he was dead.”

JARVIS piped up. “Sir, you are mistaking En Dwi Gast with his brother, Taneleer Tivan, the illegal Art Collector who was killed in a mafia shootout five years ago.”

Tony nodded. “Thanks J. Weren’t they twins or something? His picture was really familiar.”

“Yes, sir.”

Bucky poured the meringue over the crust. “It doesn’t immediately ring any bells. What’s the O.E.D?”

“The SHIELD file is so encrypted I cannot get inside of it, Mr. Barnes.” JARVIS said, a tint of confusion in his accent. “I will update you as I work to open the file.”

“Thanks JARVIS.” Bucky smiled at the ceiling. “I just hope it isn’t _Knowhere._ That place was one of HYDRA’s biggest supporters. They had some messed-up shit going on. Thank goodness I never had a chance to be involved in it.”

“Dr. Banner, your_ Randy's Doughnuts_ order has just arrived.” JARVIS spoke, a box of donuts appearing in the elevator.

“Thanks JARVIS.” He walked over and picked up the box, handing one of the warm, glazed doughnuts to Tony.

The man dug into his treat, curling up on the couch with a cup of coffee. “Man, heaven is a doughnut…” He mumbled.

Steve grinned and pet Tony’s head. “You okay after all that?”

Tony shook his head. “Nah.” He sighed. “Probably won’t ever be. “ He paused and chewed thoughtfully. “At least when I made weapons I never experimented on people-oh wait.” Tony groaned, an eye peeking up at Steve.

“Wasn’t you!” Bucky called from the kitchen.

“If I have the same name and look almost the same, then it was me!” Tony called back. “People mistook me for him so I grew the beard so people could tell the difference.”

“Cheers to that.” Bruce mumbled, raising a doughnut in solidarity. Tony huffed a laugh and started in on his second doughnut.

Steve sat in the corner’s armchair, sinking into the weathered leather. “I love leather.”

Bucky’s laugh could be heard joining Tony and Bruce’s.


	4. Frost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HAHA! I HAVE RETURNETH!
> 
> Here's your glimpse of Loki's punishment, and Tony's future.

Rhodey arrived back at the Tower after a few days, Tony declaring an obligatory movie night to celebrate. “Hey Tones,” Rhodey beamed and embraced Tony heartily. “I missed you, dude. Meetings are so boring without you.”

Tony smiled and kissed his cheek playfully. “Missed you too, Honey Bear. How did they go?”

He shrugged. “I mean, you know what the ‘Crats are going to do. Speak in circles until they got what they wanted. “ Rhodey reached for a bottle of water from the fridge and a wrapped slice of Bucky’s pie with his name on it. “Did Buck make pie?”

“Yeah, it’s the best recipe yet. He made sure not to exchange the sugar with salt this time.” Tony laughed. He pulled out the entire pie and cut himself a slice.

“Is he in heat? He usually doesn’t bake unless he’s stressed.”

Tony nodded and scarfed down his treat. “Yeah, they’re down on Steve’s floor. Started yesterday morning so only a few days. Hopefully they’ll bond so they can stop with all the scenting.”

Rhodey smiled and put away the pie on the middle shelf. “You’ll find someone. Speaking of omegas, I was there when Fury had to tell WSC about Loki. I have some…news.”

“That must’ve been interesting.”

Rhodey nodded, exasperated. “It was complete chaos. One of the councilmen said to put Loki in Alcatraz.”

Tony barked out a laugh. “Alcatraz?!” He wiped away a tear. “Loki; the new Al Capone.”

Rhodey joined him, both of them letting themselves float in their laughter. He sighed after a few minutes, dark eyes sparkling. “Anyways, they voted the best way was to keep Loki in the Heli-Carrier in the Hulk Tank. That way there’s no solid location so no one can attack them from the ground.”

“That could work.” Tony hummed. “But what about when he goes into heat?”

“That’s what I need to tell you, Tones…Fury recommended you become his mate. They’re doing some labs on Loki to figure out when.”

“Fury too?!” Tony groaned, scratching at his cheeks. “Thor said we were compatible.”

Rhodey’s eyebrow raised. “I could see that. Loki is kind of a version of you that went down the wrong path. Thor also presented the Mind Stone crap.” Rhodey stretched out on the leather armchair. “I don’t know about any of this.”

“He’s definitely an omega. Did Fury talk about what happened when he landed?”

“Yeah, when you went nuts over him?”

Tony sighed. “He smelled  _ so _ good. Like when we went to that bakery in school. I’ve been in Rut and it’s never been that strong before. Something about him…”

Rhodey smirked at him. “Ooh, someone’s in love.” He sang.

“Shut up. And no, I’m not. You know how scents work.”

“I do, and they don’t work like that.” Rhodey looked at the television in thought. “I think you should do it though. You obviously have an attraction to him, we need him to stay tamed, and you get over Pepper. He seemed different from New York. Thor said he was no threat and he’s basically human.”

“Mating with him isn’t going to help anything.” Tony crossed his arms and curled up on the leather sectional. “I don’t  _ want _ to.”

Rhodey sighed. He got up and pulled out two beers from the beer fridge below the kitchen island. “I know there’s no good option; but I wouldn’t be saying this if I didn’t believe it would work.” He sauntered back over and plopped back down into his armchair. “You have a few days to make your decision before they go with an alpha from Planned Parenthood.” Rhodey cracked open his beer and turned to the football tv station.

-

Loki did not fight the rough handling of the SHIELD armed guards as they dragged him into the containment cell in the middle of the Heli Carrier. He kept his limbs loose, hoping the harsh grips wouldn’t fracture anything; he had never felt like he was porcelain before. They shoved him inside the cage along with a pair of wrinkled, grey medic scrubs.

Luckily, Loki managed to roll instead of faceplant as he was pushed, saving him from a possible broken nose and already ruining his only clothing. He looked up in distaste at the few Avengers who stood behind the glass barrier. He lifted himself slowly and picked up the wrinkled set of clothes.

“Thank you for cooperating.” Director Fury spoke from the mounted speaker on the ceiling. “Maybe this won’t be hell for you.”

“Somehow, I doubt that.” Loki replied, sitting gingerly on the bed attached to the middle of the floor. It had a standard mattress, with flat pillows and a warm blanket at least. “What are my rules? I was not privy to the end of my hearing.”

Loki could feel Clint’s snort more than hear it. “You’re stuck in here until you go crazy or die.” Clint stole the microphone from the Director and pressed a hand against the glass. “The moment you fuck up, I’m pressing that button over there, and sending you to the bottom of the ocean in this pretty little coffin. You understand me?”

Loki scoffed, ignoring Clint for unfolding the set of light colored scrubs and seeing if they were even remotely close to fitting his tall form.

“You’re going to be drowning pretty quick if you keep this up-“ 

“Clint, that’s enough.” Natasha interrupted, snatching the mic and handing it back to Fury. Clint rammed a hand against the glass, anger simmering as Loki did not even so much as flinch or look up.

The dark-skinned director sighed and re-racked the microphone on the control stand. “You will be monitored 24/7 from several angles to ensure the best visibility. To the back of the wall behind you is a bathroom with a toilet, shower, and dresser with clothes. When you move into the bathroom section, the walls will fog for your privacy.” Loki took a moment to inspect the adjoining section. “However, we have ways of seeing your movements. Do not think you can fabricate an escape plot just because we cannot physically see you.”

Loki touched the frosted glass of the retaining wall. It was as smooth as the regular transparent glass. He looked over the appliances, opened the shower curtain, and opened the cabinets that were full of folded scrub outfits. At least they gave him a toilet, which was better than Asgard. He sauntered back to the front of the room. “Thank you for your hospitality.” He said simply, picking up his scrubs and disappearing back into the bathroom.

By the time Loki had showered and dressed, the Director was gone, leaving Loki entirely and utterly, alone.

-

Tony tried not to think about the looming decision over the next few weeks. He did anything and everything he could to distract himself, even going to meeting for Stark Industries. Pepper was there, and it was boring as hell, but it was better than moping around the Penthouse with Rhodey ‘s presence reminding him. And Besides, Pepper had finished the BondBreaker prescription, so all she could really do was glare him into submission instead of scenting him like she used to be able to do.

She smiled at him now, and though her eyes were never as bright as they used to be, the pain no longer weighed down her proud shoulders. Tony was happy for her, she deserved only the best.

Tony smiled too, because of the exhausting sex he had with random betas after these meetings. Rhodey met his eyes every night when Tony eventually stumbled back with a green-eyed brunette, and every time, Tony knew Rhodey was right.

He hated it when Rhodey was right.


	5. Penance

Thor walked out of the elevator two days later, shrugging off his armor on his way to his master bedroom. 

“Mr. Odinson, it is good to have you back.” JARVIS greeted, raising the lights. “Director Fury requests your presence at SHIELD at your earliest convenience.”

The god sighed and continued to disrobe into a pair of light washed jeans and a henley shirt. “Must I go? I am sure the son of Furious can call me to explain his problem.” 

“I shall relay the message to the Director at once, Mr. Odinson.” Thor settled onto the leather couch in the room’s spacious living room. Just as he began to relax into the weathered cushions, JARVIS spoke once again, “Director Fury says that the material concerns the wellbeing of your brother and is too sensitive to be transmitted where it can possibly be recorded. He firmly requests your presence this afternoon.”

Thor sighed, bringing a hand up to wipe at his eyes. He stood and picked up Mjolnir, taking the elevator to the rooftop. He spun his beloved relic, reluctantly flying to the hidden headquarters of SHIELD.

Landing with a grace not known to people his size, Thor was escorted inside to where Director Fury was looking over a scan of Loki’s vitals. “Thor, my man, your brother is something else.” The dark man turned, gesturing to the containment cell before him and the scientists. “We need an explanation as to what exactly Loki’s punishment is.”

“My brother was exiled to Midgard as a human. It was handed to him in order to recognize the inaccuracies of his madness’ monologue.”

Fury turned back to face the glass wall. “Is there a time limit?”

Thor took in a deep breath. “That is a complicated answer. There are three ways that Loki’s punishment will be lifted; his madness recedes and he returns to his previous state of mind, he learns the value of Midgard, or…” He couldn’t make himself finish the declaration.

“Or what?” 

“Or...if he dies.” Thor exhaled, hands shaking in his pockets. “If it is self-inflicted, Loki cannot be revived to his former status. If it is by another force, then it will be the Allfather’s decision whether or not Loki has gained enough penance to be revived. Otherwise…he shall stay dead, and not be allowed to enter any of the after-realms, including Valhalla.” 

“Wow.” 

Thor smiled sadly at the man. “Yes. You cannot imagine how distraught our mother is. She was always closest to Loki.” Thor took his first look into the cell.

Loki picked at his nails, face projecting utter boredom. He sat on the cot and only looked up once Thor addressed him through the microphone. “Brother,” Thor started.

“Yes, Thor?” Loki crossed his arms, his legs folded elegantly beneath him.

“What are your thoughts on the possible union of yourself and the Man of Iron?”

Loki’s back straightened, his eyes wide like a terrified kitten’s. “You cannot possibly believe I would rather spend my heat with a mortal than suffer it alone!” His emotionless stare burned into hatred. “Put him anywhere near me and he shall not have another breath.”

Fury stepped up beside Thor. “You wouldn’t be saying that if you were in heat.”

Loki’s hatred turned to the Director. “I would rather kill myself than have an alpha or pups.”

“So all this is about pups and not just Stark?” Thor asked, eyes sharp. 

The mage faltered for a bare moment. “I,” Loki started, “Do not want to risk any more pups to fall to a fate of experimentation. And if that means killing my alpha, then so be it.” He finished, gaze hardened. 

Thor made a soft noise in the back of his throat. “Loki, you know that will not happen again-”

“Am I not being punished? How do I know that the AllFather will decide to take them as another form of penance?! I had  _ saved _ Asgard from the Builder when I had Sleipnir but my son is still being paraded around as a horse!” Loki stood, towering over the Director and Thunder God from the elevated cell. “Force an Alpha onto me and they shall never live to leave the cell, just as I am damned to.” He walked to the bathroom section turned on the shower. 

Fury turned off the microphone, setting it down with a sigh. “So, what was all that about?”

“Loki’s son, Sleipnir, was given to the AllFather as penance because Loki had played a trick on Asgard for the Lady Freya’s hand in marriage. Since my mother would have defied my father and freed Sleipnir from slavery, the AllFather transformed Sleipnir into a war steed. It is a spell so ancient and complex not even Loki can master it.” 

The Director’s eyebrows shot up. “Damn, okay. What do we do about his heat?”

Thor crossed his arms in thought. “It is possible that Loki will allow Friend Tony to become his  mate if there are ways he can be given contraceptives.”

“Contraceptives? Will they even work on Loki?”

“Yes, or at least in theory. He is fully human.”

“We’ll get on that then. Do you think he will really harm Stark?” Fury recorded some of Loki’s hormones. They had been able to get Loki to wear a port so they could regulate his omega heat hormones. 

“It...is a possibility. I cannot tell how strong Loki is in this form, but I believe that Stark can overpower him if he must.”

-

After a week in his cell, Loki could feel his heat starting to begin. He was supposed to be being given an extreme amount of contraceptives in order to prevent any chances of Stark getting him pregnant. Loki was against Stark; he was certainly handsome, and utterly brilliant, with a healthy amount of recklessness. 

All three traits appealed to Loki, and the way the mortal had stood one-to-one with him during New York was a memory that had appeared in a few wild dreams. Resisting Stark was the only way he could keep himself away from the chance of more pups. 

As the hormones started to pump through his veins, Loki found himself imagining how lovely a child from Stark would be.

-

Director Fury had departed from the Heli-Carrier to meet with Agents Barton and Romanov to discuss how their beginning research into  _ Sakaar _ ’s possible links to human trafficking. “Agent Romanov, is there any significant information?” 

The redhead flicked through the files and pulled out the pictures she took of the mansion. “We witnessed the leader, En Dwi Gast, leaving the mansion and heading northeast. We contacted SHIELD to move Helicarrier, as is protocol, and followed the movements of the armored car until we were called back to Headquarters. All movements are noted in precise hour increments within this file.”

Fury nodded, examining the photographs. Gast was seen wearing a long, gold, flowing robe with sandals. His hair was combed upwards with what looked to be gel. His face seemed to never be able to focused on though. “How come neither of you could get a clear shot of his face?"

Barton huffed and leaned back into his chair. “The guards kept moving him. We were in a tree.”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “I got a clear shot.” She pulled out another photo where she had managed to get two-thirds of En Dwi Gast’s face clearly.

“Good." Fury sent a glare the male agent. “Did you manage to get a tracker on any of the materials?”

“No.”

“Yes.” Natasha interrupted, typing in the PIN number for the GPS. A blinking dot appeared on the global map, slowly moving northwest in the direction of NewFoundland, Nova Scotia. 

“Is there something going on between you two?” Coulson asked as he entered the meeting room. “None of the reports I have match.” 

“Match?” Fury turned and took the stack of files in Coulson’s hands. “Agent Barton’s responses are completely different from the reports of Agent Romanov. It is almost as if you two were on different missions.”

Romonov looked at Barton, a tendril of suspicion sneaking into her dark eyes. “We stayed together the whole time. Look up our own trackers and you’ll see.” She typed in the number for her own personal SHIELD tracker. It appeared on the time slot for their week-long mission. 

Fury’s eye narrowed as the playback continued throughout the length of the mission. At four in the morning, Barton’s tracker moved 2 miles west of the stake-out points, then back at six in the morning where both trackers would move in sync. Natasha’s genuine shock, led for Coulson to look toward Agent Barton.

“Clint, what the fuck were you doing?” Fury began. 

“I was trying to get closer info-”

Agent Hill’s video call broke through the GPS map, showcasing a frazzled and bloody Maria Hill. “We’re being attacked !” 

Fury, Natasha, and Coulson had already run out of the room by the time Clibt had stood up. He left the room after a moment, the broken structure of the Helicarrier’s control room gaining a small upturn of his lips. 


	6. The Grandmaster

Loki was actually enjoying a dreamless sleep while his heat started to ramp up for full-on hormones. This was his last reprieve before the real madness started, where he couldn’t breathe because his body was absolutely boiling. 

_ He sort of wishes for the ass-freezing realm of Jotunheim now.  _

After a few minutes of blissful darkness, Loki felt the sudden blast of weapons firing at the belly of the HeliCarrier. He bolted upright, looking to the control panel outside his cell to see if Agent Barton was finally going to make good on his promise of dropping Loki into the ocean. However, there was no there. Even the lazy SHIELD agents that were usually patrolling the cell’s concourse were missing.

_ Odd. Isn’t Loki the most protected prisoner on the HeliCarrier? _

Another wave of what sounded to be plasma cannons rocked the carrier, jostling Loki into the back wall as the craft picked up speed. Loki wheezed as the drawers on his dressers slid out and hit his chest as the HeliCarrier made a sharp turn. Loki got to his feet and went around the corner of his cell to look back outside. He felt his stomach lurch as the floor dropped from underneath him, sending him into the ceiling. The cell spun as it was released, dragging a hoarse scream from Loki’s unused voice as he was thrown around the walls like a doll. He could hear his skull crack as he hit the metal corner of his bed. Blood splattered around him, his vision going in and out.

In a split-second of clarity he could see the dark waters of the freezing Atlantic Ocean rushing up to meet the thick glass of the cage. Loki could feel the hard surface of the water as it shattered the glass upon impact. He slipped on seawater and took the last bubble of air. If he died, at least Clint and Thor could go on without him taking up parts of their consciousness. Glass was encrusted into his hands and feet as he tried to swim past the jagged opening, the seam of his shirt caught on a massive shard of glass, anchoring Loki to the wall as it sunk to the bottom of the ocean. 

He could feel his heart racing as he struggled to free himself from what would have been easy, with either a flick of his magic or even a small pull from his Jotun strength, and now he could see the blackness creeping up on the sides of his vision. Not to mention the sight of the blood in the water around him as shards of glass encrusted themselves under his fingernails and in the soft flesh of his right side. Loki felt the cold, gut-wrenching sadness of dying alone creep up his throat as he let out his last breath. He fell limp against the shattered and bloody wall of his cage, resigning himself to the salty taste of death.

-

En Dwi Gast grinned as his men released the glass cage into the water. He steered his car-turned-speedboat towards the wreckage, leaving his men to deal with the swarm of incoming Avengers while he retrieved his newest prize. A scuba diver, one of his favorite betas, was getting dressed behind him. Gast’s own gamma beta physician was on stand-by in the seat next to the diver for when they were able to retrieve the currently drowning omega. 

Pausing above the bubbling cage, Gast nodded to the diver, handing him the rope and sharp pliers he would need to break into the cage if it hadn’t shattered upon impact. The beta strapped into his face mask and dove into the frigid water, submerging quickly. En Dwi Gast leaned back in his chair as his doctor prepared his medical supplies in case the omega was in a stage of drowning. “What’s his name again?” Gast asked out loud, glancing at the doctor.

“Loki Odinson.” She replied, setting out a shock blanket. “I was able to download the files on his hormones and determined he was in the early stage of heat.”

“Wonderful.” He grinned at the water as they could see the incoming shadow of the diver as he rose to the surface. His smile faltered. “Uh-oh, looks like blood.” 

“You know I will fix it. I think he may have been cut while trying to escape.” Amora spoke calmly, used to blood as she worked as the head physician at Gast’s mansion complex. She rolled up her sleeves as the diver broke the surface, dragging a limp Loki over to the side of the boat. The gamma beta reached over and tugged the body onto the heavy-duty towels on the floor of the boat. The diver clambered in at the back of the boat as Gast gunned the boat back towards the meeting point on shore. He could see half of his men still fighting with the Avengers to their left on the shore, SHIELD vehicle backups racing towards Gast’s meeting point. 

“Typical.” He tutted, reaching down to pull out one of his favorite inventions. A plasma-infused bazooka, with extra fireworks, because why not kill people in style?

He pressed the auto-pilot button, focusing the aim of his bazooka on the bank in front of the incoming stampede, and taking into account the wind speed. He fired, not even stumbling as the massive shell hurdled into the sandy dunes. He laughed as it exploded, sending blue flames high into the sky and onto the thick canopy of oak trees. He set down the weapon and shored up the boat, converting it back into his vehicle. Amora and the diver were joined by a second physician to help remove the glass while also keeping Loki’s lungs free from swallowing back the seawater. 

“I need to get him on a blood transfusion back at the med bay.” Amora called from the back.

“Gotcha! We’ll be there in about ten.” He pressed the radio and relayed the message to his right-hand-woman, Topaz, who was waiting for them back at his mansion. 

_ “Affirmative, Grandmaster. Opening the underground passage as you approach.”  _ Topaz affirmed. 

3 miles to their left was a forested area with only enough room between the trees to a vehicle that knows the exact path needed to avoid the tree trucks. An armoured vehicle containing half of Gast’s men, fell into speed behind them, firing at the SHIELD. Gast swerved as the SHIELD truck exploded behind them, avoiding a large chunk of burnt roof. He continued driving through the forest with his men behind him.

After a few minutes a further piece of trees began to hinge simultaneously upwards and down into the earth like the mouth of a mountain bear, swallowing the two vehicles and quickly closing. Gast drove the fifteen miles underground to the underground central complex of tunnels underneath his 4,000 acre estate. The domed central hub of the complex was outfitted with a large garage of ammunition and vehicles in case of invasion or a quick escape. His favorite blue color ran around the edges of the ceiling lights, adding an ethereal glow as the headlights of the vehicles flashed around the vaulted room.

Striding forward was a Amora's medical team, pushing a gurney and carrying large bags of supplies. Behind them at a slower pace, was a stout woman with dark hair hair pulled tightly into a bun. The silver marking on her cheeks gave away her ranking as the assistant general to the "Grandmaster." En Dwi exited his seat as the medical staff hurried off with Loki strapped to the gurney. His dark eyes watched as the group disappeared through the main corridor across the room. He grinned and turned to his general, placing a wiry hand on her short shoulder. 

"I have done it once again, Topaz." Gast nodded. 

"You certainly have, Grandmaster. He shall be the jewel of your collection." She replied drily. 

"I cannot wait to see how beautiful these pups are going to be!" He moved towards his private elevator next to the main corridor, selecting the level for his collection. His beautiful glass elevator opened out onto a grid pattern of doors, compiled into five main sections. Furthest away were the two long hallways full of identical 7×7 foot cells. Then came the reinforced cells for the dangerous or possible escapees. Next came the Breeding Rooms, a hallway of hotel-esque rooms for copulation purposes. Closer was the Birthing Units, within that was the medical rooms for both gynecological and various injuries. Closest to the elevators was Gast's favorite part, the Baby rooms. These hospital-ish rooms were outfitted with anything needed to take care of the infants produced before they were to be sold. He liked to go and play with the cute babies when he wasn't busy in the Breeding Rooms or occupied with business above ground. 

He walked the winding, 20 minute path towards the more reinforced cells, nodding to his guards as he passed them. Cell no. 965 was Gast's (almost) most prized possession. It's incredibly thick metal door was at the very end of the main cell corridor, set back into the wall with a seven inch thick window in the middle of the door. He typed in the two passcodes and verified his handprint, opening the door into the cell. It was two feet larger than any other cell, complete with a thin mattress nailed to the back wall. A set of sturdy chains were secured to the drain in the middle of the concrete floor, the handcuffs laying on the bed, ready for its newest resident. He felt the cold walls, focusing on the strength of them. 

Yes, this would do nicely. 

Amora and Topaz appeared in the doorway to Gast’s personal Baby Room. He looked up from the adorable dark-skinned omega baby in his arms. “He is healing nicely. He may have some scar tissue but not enough to be noticeable on his palms.” Amora started, coming closer to smile at the baby. The baby girl grinned toothless up at her and reacher for Amora’s long blonde hair. “This one should get quite the price.”

“I know, right! Such a pretty little thing. HYDRA will pay me so much for this one.” Gast kissed the baby’s cheek, receiving a gurgling laugh. He set back down the baby in her crib as the wet nurse approached to feed her. He then stood and followed Topaz and Amora to the medical unit. “How long until we can start breeding?” 

Topaz opened the door to the small hospital-esque room where Loki was laid on the gurney. Gast approached the bed and ran a hand through the freshly washed black curls. “Such a specimen. I will have to raise the combat team’s pay after getting this one.” 

“Certainly, Grandmaster. His hormones are the highest we have seen in the collection.” Amora handed him a chart of Loki’s vitals. “His heat will be intense. He also has the possibility for triplet sets. He can be bred in about five days when his will begin.”

“How so with triplets?” Topaz asked from the doorway.

“His womb is suited for a much larger mammal. He also has a higher rate of ovulation and produces more eggs.” Amora checked Loki’s heartbeat. She listened for a moment then wrote down a few numbers on the chart. “He very well may have twice the output per breeding session.”

“Excellent!” Gast rubbed his hands together excitedly. “We will certainly be richer than Stark then.”

Amora placed the chart on the doctor’s table and called for the guards to take Loki to his cell. "Let him settle for a day and he will be healed." She flipped her long hair, watching as Loki was carried out of the room. 


	7. Isolation

Thor was on his knees as the Gast’s caravan disappeared into the dense forest. “No!” 

Tony disengaged his helmet, setting an armoured hand on the god’s shoulder. “We’ll get him back, Thor. We just need to re-analyze our strategies.” 

“Loki will not be safe until we do something! There is no time for thinking.” He rose to his feet and picked Mjolnir out of the shallow dent it made in the ground. “Loki’s heat is due any day and as his brother, I refuse to let another pup be ripped from his arms.”

“Whoa, whoa there! Hold on a second.” Tony kept Thor’s feet on the ground as he began to hover with Mjonir. “We cannot go in there without a plan. This isn’t Asgard and Loki doesn’t have any strength. How do we know that storming in there won’t cause more problems?”

Thor slumped into Tony’s grip and wiped away the blood splattered on his cheek. Thor wiped his hand on his trousers, following the suited man back towards the scattered agents. “I fear that we will be too late if we do not act now.” 

“Look, Thor, I really get it.” Tony turned back towards him and put an armoured hand on Thor’s shoulder. “But I can bet you right now that they’re fixing up his wounds and if we disrupt that, there’s a chance he may not survive those wounds. I’m going to do everything to help you get him back, but I need you to stand down and listen to us right now.” 

Thor’s baby blues stared sorrowfully into Tony’s, searching for strength. After a silent moment, Thor nodded, a tear creating a clear trail down his stained cheeks. “Okay.”

“Yeah, so, let’s go get debriefed and find out what happened.” Tony guided the god over to Director Fury and Coulson, a visible frown on Coulson’s pale features. “Hey. JARVIS, has the scans of the mechanism that lifted the ground for the convoy.” 

“That’s the only good thing I’ve heard today.” Fury grumbled. “I don’t want to talk about this until I know we aren’t bugged. Can we hold this in the Basement at the Tower?” The dark-skinned man looked at Tony.

Tony shrugged. “Sure, unless you count JARVIS as a bug. I can let you all in once I de-suit.” Fury nodded, eye closing briefly. Tony could recognize the throbbing vein beside his eye as a sign of a migraine. “I’m going to grab Bruce and head back then.”

Fury dismissed him with a small nod and turned as a lieutenant came up with reports. 

Tony sent a smile to Thor before walking off in the direction of ultimate destruction to find the exhausted body of Bruce. He leaned over the smaller Hulk-sized crater, throwing down a bathrobe he kept stored in the thigh compartment of his suits. Bruce shot him a tired grin as he slipped the robe on and crawled up the ledge with Tony supporting some of his weight. 

“So, debriefing?” Bruce cleared his throat.

“Happening in the Basement. Fury doesn’t want whatever happened to get out in case this area’s bugged.”

“Got it. Seems likely if there’s an underground tunnel system this far away from the main estate.” The scientist pulled the robe a little tighter. “Can you give me a ride? Thor isn’t a good pilot.”

Tony laughed and secured a safety strap around Bruce’s waist. He put a hand around his middle and initiated his boot thrusters. “So I’m the smooth Mary Poppins ride, then?” 

“Don’t almost run into a skyscraper because of an eagle and you’ll win.” Bruce grinned as they set off into the air. 

-

The Basement was a fragment from the paranoid mind of Tony post-Afghanistan. His glass enclosed towers became a window for the media to try to get any press on him-be that of helicopters, fake window washers, or in one instance of a camera-strapped pigeon. He needed a place in the tower that did not have any cameras, bugs, or access by anyone except Tony himself. Having that safe space placed anywhere above the ground led to possibility of air or ground attacks. So, Pepper suggested a basement level below JARVIS and the energy core for the power generators that would take away almost every possibility for attack. 

Referring to the level as ‘The Basement’ made sure that anyone who was able to overhear them would think of the underground level that held the Arc Reactor’s generator. Tony hated the fact that Fury not only knew about the Basement but also had been in the secret service shaft that led down to level itself. It felt like it was opening the possibility for Fury to blackmail him. So, Tony built an addition onto The Basement that no one-no, not even Pepper- knew anything about. Tony built the small room by himself during his bouts of night terrors. 

He bomb-proofed. He fire-proofed. He added canned foods, protein shakes and a mini bar of his favorite comfort alcohol. 

No one knew about it; and no one would.

Tony led the team into the small conference room that made up The Basement. He plopped into the h igh -backed leather chair at the head of the table, kicking up his feet onto the table. “So, anyone want coffee?”

A mumble of agreement came from the general room. The carafe clicked on by JARVIS, a stack of sugars and creamers appeared out of the wall pane next to the coffee maker’s table. 

Fury gave a weary glance to Tony from the other end of the table. “Well, I guess I’ll need a redesign of the HeliCarrier. How long for a schematic?” 

“I’d say two days if you take me out on a date.”

The director sighed and nodded. “Okay, but you get to pay.”

Tony grinned, “Deal!” 

Thor cut in, “Can we discuss Loki now?”

Fury turned to the god, who hadn’t even bothered sitting down, still pacing by the elevator doors. “Fine.  So the intel from the security footage is that it was definitely Gast.” A tablet in his hand played the shaky footage from the hood of a SHIELD vehicle chasing the boats. “They were unmarked hydro vehicles rigged  with, ” He scrolled down the list, “at least three types of weapons.”

“I shall tear them all apart.” Thor spoke lowly, gripping Mjolnir tightly. He stalked to the coffee machine and grabbed a steaming cup from Natasha as she distributed the several servings. He sighed after a long sip of the burning hot coffee-seemingly not bothered by the temperature.

“As much as I hate to say this-he is a prisoner?” Steve couldn’t take his eyes off the shiny surface of the table. “I mean, if we talk to this guy and get some sort of compromise-”

“THERE WILL BE NO COMPROMISE!” Thor shouted, slamming the coffee against the wall, electricity starting gather in his eyes. “You dare to compromise with a kidnapper who is connected to Omega trafficking?!” Thor rounded on Steve. “If you believe that I will stand for that, then I will hand over your precious Omega to him-”

Steve stood up, posture ramrod straight as anger filled him. “Touch Bucky and you’re dead, god or not!” 

Natasha splashed water in Steve’s face, pushing his back into the chair. “Bucky’s not going anywhere,” She turned to Thor, “and we’re not compromising with Loki’s safety. What do you suggest we do, Thor?”

The god took a deep breath. “My thoughts were to  immediately storm the base, but I realize he has firepower and a hostage.”

She nodded, sitting back in her chair next to Tony. “What would Loki do in a situation like this?” 

“I don’t know! When there was a problem with Omega trafficking-he handled it on his own! I was too busy being a spoiled prince at galas... He was gone for almost a year. I assume he was just stealthy like he always does.”

“ So he likes to watch from afar then?” Fury asked.

“Yes. His symbol is a snake for a reason.” Thor nodded. 

“I can build a snake robot with a camera.” Tony piped up. “It wouldn’t take me more than a few hours to get a working model.”

“Let’s start with that. At the very least we can then do surveillance around the estate to find a new plan.” Fury nodded. “Can you get started now?”

Tony dramatically smelled under his arms. “With this kind of funk? Yes.” He grinned as Bruce wrinkled his nose. 

“I have literally turned into a topless hairy beast and I somehow smell better than you.”

Tony laughed, standing up. “Well, it’s been what,  forty -eight hours since...you know. Haven’t really had the motivation to shower.” A small gleam of sadness turned down his smile. “I’ll be in the lab.”

-

Thor followed the group to the upper levels, Fury leaving at the ground entrance, Tony disappearing into his workshop. The god sighed heavily as the rest of the group reached the living space. “I need to contact my father for guidance. I shall be back by tonight.”

“Hey Thor?” Steve called, standing from the couch.

He turned back, eyes watching the soldier warily. “Yes?”

Steve walked closer, blue eyes tired. “I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier. I didn’t understand how important he is to you. I shouldn’t think of Loki like of that.”

Thor enveloped him into a hug. “Thank  you Steve . I apologize for my words as well. I will do better to not let my anger to cause harm to my teammates and listen.”

Steve smiled up at him. “We’ll get him back.”

Thor’s smile turned sad. “Yes, we will. Then you can hate Loki all you want. He’s quite the asshole.” He pulled away and took the stairs to the rooftop. 

Bucky appeared out of the stairwell a few minutes later, a confused dip in his eyebrows. “Why did Thor just apologize to me?”

Natasha shook her head and pat his shoulder as she walked to her rooms. “It’s a long story.”

Steve sighed, falling back onto the couch.

-

Fury entered the keypad onto the interrogation room. He took a deep breath before opening the door, Coulson entering after him and locking the door. 

“So, Clint,” Fury began, pulling up two chairs to the small table in the center of the room. “Why did you do this?”

The man folded his handcuffed hands the best he could. “Why not? He invaded New York! He killed almost a hundred people because of a temper tantrum. He enslaved me!”

Coulson nodded, face impassive. “You wanted him to feel the same way you did.”

Clint’s dark eyes met Coulson’s, relief flooding his features. “Exactly.”

“How did you find the information on Gast to send him the coordinates?”

“I asked Bucky about Hydra’s OED’s. I went through files while Loki was being transferred so one would be in their office.”

Fury’s eye narrowed. “ So you contacted an Omega trafficker through SHIELD’s  encryptions ?”

Clint’s easy smile faltered. “Well...yes.”

“I don’t think you realize how serious this is, Barton.” Fury rubbed his head, dirt and blood coming away on his fingers. “We now have no control over where a demi-god is, possibly pregnant with magical beings, and we have another demigod who will no doubt come after you if he finds out you were behind this.”

“Thor doesn’t know?” Coulson asked. 

“No. Thor believes this a planned attack by Gast, not an inside job by a packmate.” Fury emphasized the last word. “I almost want to let him loose in a room with you.”

“I’m too valuable, Director.” 

“But you’re also now a threat. If you’re willing to endanger lives like you did on the Heli carrier and give out coordinates to an enemy; you can’t be trusted.” 

“Tasha won’t stand for this. You can’t keep me here! At least let me talk to her.” Clint watched them as the two stood.

Coulson shook his head. “You’re being isolated for now as we try to figure out what else you leaked.”

Fury glanced at Coulson. “Don’t you think that now that Gast knows he can take down a  HeliCarrier , he can come after Natasha? This has become a world-wide manhunt because you needed revenge.”

“And what will you say to the public when you get Loki back? That their family  members' deaths are invalid because their murderer was going through teenage angst?!”

“That is beside the main point of the mission. We have to first handle the possibility of Thor destroying who he thinks the enemies are and having rogue magical children blending into society.” The director spoke, folding his chair against the far wall. 

“Asgard may get involved as well. This could be counted as interference in corporeal punishment. We won’t protect you if they come against you.” Coulson said lowly. “I personally won’t say anything, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be described in mission reports for Thor.”

Clint’s face drained. “Can I at least talk to Tasha?”

“I’ll see if she wants to.” Fury said, closing the door behind himself and Coulson.


	8. Blurred Lines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOEVER CAN GUESS WHO THE BABY IS WINS A VIRTUAL COOKIE. PS it's my favorite star wars character

Loki woke slowly to a thin mattress and cold shackles. His eyes felt heavy, the white room around him blurring as his eyes swept around the room. He reached a hand up to his face to rub away the fog, but clenching his hands only resulted in prickles of sharp pain running up his arms. He tried to see what was wrong, but his eyes wouldn’t focus on his hands. All he saw was blurry flesh tones and white. 

  
A noise of locks unclicking and a door opening caused Loki to recoil back into the wall the mattress was attached to. A flash of flesh and gold appeared in his foggy peripheral.

“Hi there, Loki.” Came a soft woman’s voice. “I’m Amora. I’m here to look at your injuries. Can you uncurl from the wall for me?”

“Where the hell am I?!” He demanded, keeping himself coiled and moving away from the gold flashing.

“You’re in a safe room. My colleague and I rescued you from some slavers who attacked the SHIELD ship you were on.” She spoke gently, reaching a warm hand to touch a wrist. 

Loki winced at the pain from his arms. “Slavers?”

“Yes. They dropped your cage and you got trapped inside. We were able to fight them off and save you.”

“So, you’re SHIELD?”

Amora made a soft noise he couldn’t decipher in his foggy state. “We’re one of their safe housing companies for Omegas. Like Witness Protection but for those too valuable to be left vulnerable.” 

He allowed for the warm hands to slowly help him uncurl. “Why are my eyes fogged?”

“It’s so you don’t see the other protected residents. It’s a safety issue.”

“That sounds ridiculous.” He mumbled.

She gave a small laugh. “Yes, it is. I personally don’t like it but it helps during heat. By the way, is your heat starting soon?”  
Loki bit his lip, tasting blood that he didn’t realize was there. “I think I’m already in pre-Heat. Mine usually lasts two weeks from pre-heat all the way through.”

“That makes sense.” She placed something cool on the palm of his hand, soothing the aching. “Does that feel any better?”

“Yes.”

Amora wrapped cloth bandages around the cool gel. “There. You really tore up your hands from all the glass.” Another shuffle then the sound of a wheeled cart being pulled closer to him.

A smell of roasted stew wafted over to his nose.

“What smells good?”

“This is a stew that will help to settle your stomach and give you some protein. It has some roasted beef in it.” A spoon appeared at his lips, a warmed broth slipping down his throat as he swallowed. “Our cooks are really talented. We try to make sure to give you food that will give you protein since you’ll be going to Heat and expending a lot of energy soon.” 

Loki allowed her to feed him until the shallow bowl was empty of any stew. His stomach gave way to a settled and full feeling as if the stew had expanded as he ate it.

He felt her place the bowl to the side of the mattress and turn back to him. “I know this will be hard, but do you remember anything from the kidnapping?”

“No. I feel fogged.” Loki tried to remember the attempted kidnapping, but a wall of fog stopped him and Amora began speaking again.

“I’ll give you an injection for the pain from your head. I’m sure your head is kind of filled with cotton, right?” She had the lilt of a grin in her voice.

“It is, actually. What will the shot do?” He got suspicious as she moved away to get the syringe.

“It’s a calming agent. It’ll help clear the fog because your mind is trying to familiarize yourself with the new scents too quickly. It’s like when you go into shock.”

He felt her warm hands on his face. “Will my eyes still be fogged?”

“Unfortunately, yes. But don’t worry about that. You’ll feel better soon, Loki.” She moved his neck to the side and quickly injected into his jugular vein. She pulled away, making shuffling noises. 

Loki felt a warm wave of calm wash over him, leaning back against the wall as he relaxed. 

Amora returned by the feel of her warmth. “See? I bet that feels nice and warm. I brought you a pillow and blanket. We were so worried we forgot to give you some when you were rushed in.”

She maneuvered his limbs down into a horizontal position, placing a soft pillow beneath his head. She laid out a woolen blanket over him. He sighed into the pillow.

The scent of fresh linen filled his nose.

“That’s it, Loki.” Amora ran a hand through his hair after she tucked the blanket around his feet and sides. “You’re so good for me. I want you get some rest, okay?”

“That sounds nice...” He mumbled, eyes closing and relaxing into the pillow.

Amora made sure he was deep asleep before standing from her kneeling pad. She quietly collected the trash from the syringe and locked the door behind her as she left.

She walked down to the Baby Rooms, where the Grandmaster was bouncing a chubby baby boy on his lap. “I have completed the initial injection.”

“Ah, Amora!” He grinned blowing razzberries on the baby’s fat cheeks. “How is he?”

“He’s calm and currently sleeping. He put up a little fuss at first but calmed when I said I was part of SHIELD.”

“You are a superstar, have I ever told you that?” He smiled.

“Many times actually.” She disposed of the syringe, washing her hands. “He’s about a day away from Heat. I suggest another twenty-four hours before introducing him to breeding.”

“I think I can go another day without touching him, right cutie?” He spoke to the curious infant. “And you’re going to your new home tomorrow! Isn’t that exciting, 00024583?” He cooed as the baby chewed on its tiny fist. 

“Where is that one going?” She asked.

“To the Outer Rim. They’ve ordered some kiddos to repopulate after Arkanis was destroyed.” He bounced the baby, the red wisps of hair bouncing as the baby laughed.

“You’re going to be a strong little soldier!”   
The Grandmaster stood, placing the baby back into the bassinet, covering it with a black blanket.

A nurse stepped up from her place against the wall and bowed before wheeling the bassinet out of the room.

  
-

  
“Heimdall!” Thor shouted; eyes raised to the clouded skies. He felt the static of the air pick up as the wave of magic enveloped him in the BiFrost. He shot up through the clouds and landed in the golden domed room of Heimdall’s post.

The BiFrost had been repaired since Loki’s genocidal attempt at destroying Jotunheim. It had taken the work of every mage in Asgard, Alfheim, and Vanaheim since they were missing the power and skill of Loki. Thankfully though, the seams of magic threaded through the edge of Asgard were open to mending as the mage’s worked, not being cauterized by the destruction of pure energy almost two Earth years before.

Thor met Heimdall’s dark eyes as he landed. “Greetings, Heimdall.”

“Good evening, Prince Thor. Shall you be needing a steed?” The dark-skinned man spoke. 

“No. I will fly. Have you seen any of what has happened?”

Heimdall’s bright eyes seemed to dim for a moment. “Somewhat. I was given orders to only look when I felt something wrong. He has been clouded from me since the cage was dropped.”

“Do you think he is the one shielding himself, like the past few years?”

“No.” Heimdall’s gaze moved back out to the stars, “This is a different clouding. Loki was able to disappear from my vision completely. This is a fog of whiteness that blocks my senses. You may be dealing with another magic user.”

Thor snorted. “Of course. Nothing with Loki is ever easy, is it?”

“But it makes his love more rewarding, doesn’t it?”

The god smiled. “I bid you a good eve, Gatekeeper.”

“Good eve, Prince Thor.” Heimdall nodded, eyes refocusing on some part of the universe.

Thor nodded and gripped Mjolnir’s leather strap; swinging her until he was able to take flight towards the glittering palace in the distance.

Frigga stood from her seat at her weaving loom, her handmaidens startling as a guard ran into the room panting. 

“Your highness, Prince Thor said he needs your immediate counsel on a grave matter!”

  
-

  
Natasha sat across from Clint. He couldn’t meet her eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not the one you should be saying that to.” She replied. “You’re insanely lucky that Thor doesn’t know yet.”

He shifted in his seat, trying to reach for her hands. She pulled them off the table and into her lap. She idly played with the hem of her civilian shirt.

“Steve almost got attacked by Thor when Steve said we should partner with Gast to get Loki back.”

“I’m so screwed...”

Her mouth turned sour. “Bucky’s gone into isolation in the Tower. He won’t eat and JARVIS says he hasn’t gone to sleep in forty-eight hours. Steve can’t even talk to him.”  
Clint put his head in his hands. “What have I done?” He mumbled. 

“Something that I don’t think you can fix.”   
“Are you not going to help?” He looked up at her, meeting her eyes for the first time since she walked in.

“No. If you’ll do this to Thor, then I can’t imagine what you’ll do to me. Loki’s probably being raped around the clock until he gets knocked up and then is sold off. I’ve seen those prisoners Clint.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be like that! He would be knocked around then Fury will get him back. It shouldn't be that hard.”

She stood, chair slamming against the wall behind her. She yanked at his collar and lifted him out of his chair. “I’ve seen Gast’s prisoners, Clint! Red Room bought omegas and children from him! Yelena was a product of his OED with Red Room.” She leaned into his face. “I may love you, but you give away secrets to get revenge like this crosses too close of a line for me. I have been trying to take down OEDs for twenty years, Clint. You just showed me that you have the possibility to send me to one when I’ve done worse things than Loki.” She let him fall back into his chair.

“How do I know you won’t do this to me?” She asked quietly.

“I won’t! I would never do this to you! I didn’t think it would be this serious, Tasha-”

Natasha slapped him. “Do not try to bullshit this! You knew what you were doing, you knew exactly what you wanted to happen to him. You asked Bucky about HYDRA connections! How do I know you aren’t planning more? How am I supposed to protect you when I myself am terrified I’m going to get kidnapped because you were selfish and went behind all of our backs!”  
He closed his mouth around a rebuttal. “I love you.”

“If you did, you would’ve talked to me.” Natasha turned and walked out the door. Coulson and Fury were waiting in the hallway for her.

“Thanks.” She took a tissue from Coulson.

“What’s the next step?”

“We use Stark’s snake camera to get a surveillance around the facility, and if possible, sneak it underground.” Fury answered. He started walking them back towards the entrance. “We’ll meet up tonight at seven. I’ve already had the coordinates sent to the Avengers comm.”

“What if Thor isn’t back by then?”

“We continue as planned. We aren’t using firepower yet. I want to know if we have Asgard’s backing before sending in anyone.” 

She nodded, throwing away the used tissue that had a smudge of foundation on it. “See you two tonight then.” 

Coulson nodded and gave her a small upturned smile. Fury saluted her.

She turned and walked through the doors of the SHIELD headquarters, feeling her heart break.


End file.
